Speaking of this issue, there is no excuse for not taking the road of virtues in friendship, of being positively recognized by one's superior, or of being trusted by one's subordinates whenever there is a choice in one's decision between good and evil. Do you understand this? I want you to examine and compare the choices. Those who excuse themselves are generally losers. I don't want you to use excuses whenever something happens. Reverend Moon never uses excuses even if it means his death. If confronted with facts of the matter, he might wince with his answers, but never excuses. It's Reverend Moon's way of life. Only the straightforward people will survive and inherit their environment.

We need "honest believers" more than anything else in view of this conclusion on honesty. How do we get honest believers? From our present decision making. Therefore, we must react decisively when good cannot stop evil's invasion. Thus Reverend Moon does not dilly-dally when something happens. Never. You cannot afford to. Whenever you feel negative, you must shed the feeling immediately. It's wrong to go before the public while you are still affected by bad feelings. It's a serious matter. When we consider our whole lives, we realize only those who stick to a firm philosophy-not just in religious matters-but in ordinary life, will survive. I want you to know that only people like that achieve anything worthwhile in history. (45-269)

You must believe as a child does. (46-177)

1. Patience is Precious

What is the reason we must endure and be patient today? Because, unless we are patient, we cannot repay our indemnity and cannot resolve the grief that heaven bears. Because heaven and earth follow the ways of God, if you get angry when God gets angry and grieve with God when he grieves, you will be judged in Satan's world. In our journey toward heaven we are constantly taught to be mild and meek, to endure without rancor. (1-113)

God answers our prayer by saying, "You must kill yourself, and you will receive blessings." It means that blessings come only after endurance. It matters not whether the endurance is in private affairs or in the public domain. "Endure, endure" we are told, and endure continually.

In the Orient, the word for patience implies that one should endure even under the threat of a knife. We all know how painful it is to stick a knife in our heart. But do you understand that one who is struck with a knife one thousand times is one who triumphs one thousand times? You must know it now. Think and think before you act, and then think and endure. All actions must be preceded by thoughtful consideration. Do you understand? Reverend Moon likes to play the game of patience. "Great Fatherland" are not my favorite words, but it is a precious phrase. But every time you hear that phrase think about one thing: What should I do first whenever there is a problem? Think that you can inherit all of God's blessings. (93-320)

The Bible says, blessed are those who endure to the end. It's not easy to endure to the end. But it doesn't mean an end only because I die. It doesn't mean an end only because the whole family dies. It could mean the end of the spirit of a people, the end of a nation, or the end of the world. Thus the end means not just the end of your family, your people, your life in this world, but beyond this world where we no longer exist.

Can you imagine the hardships of following God, forsaking yourself, your family, your people, your nation, to the very end of the world? The journey is fraught with difficulties that dog the traveler all the way to the end. One cannot take to the road for the peace, comfort, hope, wish, or glory of one person. (51-25)

For this reason, anyone who wants God's blessings must endure. When you give alms to a poor person, you should not say, "Hey, you are a young fellow, what's the matter with you?" Instead, say, "I hope this small token will bring you many times more today." You can say this many, many times. But if you say, "You rotten son of a gun, get one thousand blessings today," he would say, "How wonderful that you say it. But I wish you didn't call me you rotten son of a gun." Be patient and endure.

It is spring time now. Nowadays, there are machines doing the tilling instead of an ox. In the old days one would drive an ox to till the soil and whip the animal's butt once in a while, hollering, "You rotten animal, why are you behaving like this? I raised you for this time of the year but you are behaving so poorly!" But instead, one should tell the beast, "Hi, I am very sorry that you have to be used like this after a long winter of inactivity and poor feeding." One should be more patient than an ox so that heaven recognizes one's virtues. Do you understand this? (127-89)

Instead of clever patchwork to smooth over a situation in the moment, one should be patient in all sweetness. One should live a blessed life with a blessed mind, to await true blessings. Do you understand what I am saying? (127-89)

Our endurance should not end midway, it should go all the way. For this, God has endured for six thousand years. You must understand that. Who is he? He is our father. Because we inherited his flesh and blood and his virtues, we must be like him. Because of this we must endure like our world philosophy. For whom, you say? For God. Children's duty begins here. Children's loyalty begins here. The liberation of nations and of the world begins here. Here we welcome the good world and the bad world as hell is no more. Isn't that so? We must endure under this philosophy.

There is an old story. There was an old woman who used to be married to the last grandson of a 5-generation family. Someone asked her how she had endured it all. The woman told him to open some large jars in a storage room. Inside the three or four of the jars, filling them to the top, were the words "patience." Not just being patient. But enduring patience.

There must a purpose in endurance. Endurance is impossible without a purpose. We must risk our lives to capture all the foes of God, all the foes of mankind. We must find our Lord once again as representatives of this world. For this we must endure. Our purposefulness must be strong. There is no point in just enduring. What's the point in crying out, "This is killing me!" Even as we endure and bear up under difficulty, we must be thankful and sing hymns. Do you understand? God will simply forsake us if he finds out that we are not enduring thankfully but with bitterness. What do we need to endure? What do we need? "A thankful spirit!" A thankful spirit. We cannot endure without a thankful spirit. Without a thankful spirit, we cannot unite with God just simply by enduring. (44-28)